Amputee Forced to Crawl Out of Store When Worker Takes His Wheelchair

A store in Iowa is feeling the heat for the insensitive way it treated a disabled customer.

Shane Zahn has gone viral after he posted photos and video of himself crawling out of a Mills Fleet Farm in Mason City because an employee wouldn't let him take an electric wheelchair out of the store.

“After I got out of the store, right in front of the door I was told I was not allowed to take the wheelchair out into the parking lot, and I said 'huh?' I said, 'I’ve done this before.' She said the wheelchair is to not be out, it needs to come back in. I said, 'What am I supposed to do, crawl out of the store?'"

That is exactly what ended up happening, as Zahn proved on his Facebook page.

Zahn's son chronicled the episode, which has produced strong reaction.

Zahn has his won wheelchair, but he doesn't use it when he goes to an establishment that provides electric ones, like Mills Fleet Farm does. He was driven to the store and when he arrived, employees gave him a chair, only to demand he return it before he left.

Mills Fleet Farm COO Wayne Sales was quick to condemn the worker's action. "We have policies and guidelines, primarily for the protection of our customers in terms of incidents that may happen when using electric carts in our parking lots, but in no way will we ever have a policy or treat our customers and deny them access to the carts as it appears in this situation,” he said.

It's unclear if the employee has been disciplined. Zahn, meanwhile, said, "I hope that it never happens to anybody else. I hope they change their policy."